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MikeekiM wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 08, 2022 9:55 am

Any CPAP Travel Tips???

I am going to be on the road for about four days in two cities... I am a noob (having only been on this CPAP for a month, and struggling)...so in some ways, I am thinking about just not taking the dang machine with me... But I know that the right answer, is to take it...

Any travel tips?

• Water/Humidifier - I have read that it's fine to use tap water or bottled water when on travel...and then just rinse and clean it really well when returning... Is it also an option to bring you own distilled water and check your luggage? Does anyone do that?
  
  Carry On Luggage - The ResMed 11 has a nice carrying case that makes it easy to strap to the handle of a rollaway carryon luggage... That that would count as my "personal item"...right? And because this is a work related trip, I will need my computer bag as my "personal item"... What do most people do in these situations? Put the CPAP machine (de-bagged) inside of the rollaway and wrap the fragile items in clothing for protection?
  Any other tips?

My travel tips:
1. Also bring an extension cord. YOu never know where the outlets are in a hotel room and it adds outlets. I found a really good travel power strip with long cord at Amazon that works great for this and work trips.
2. CPAP wipes. I find it easier to bring pre-packed wipes to clean the masks and silicon seals when traveling. They sell travel versions where there is one wipe per.
3. If overnight/international overnight, bring a battery and use inflight. I’ve tried plugging in on flights, but have often blown the circuit breaker or had one flight where the outlets didn’t work. It just easier to use my own power all the time.
4. Never check as people said. I did one long trip where I brought both of my machines, full-size/travel machines. ( will never do it again ) I brought the travel machine on the flight and packed the full-size machine. My luggage missed the flight. Because the value of it was over $1000, India customs wasn’t going to let the bag get shipped to the hotel without me coming to back to the airport.. I had a smart Air France agent who said, but its used “ so its not worth that anymore” and it was allowed to be send to the hotel without me retrieving it. But since it was X-rayed on the way in, it had to be X-rayed on the wya out to make sure I wasn’t “leaving it in the country”.

MikeekiM wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 08, 2022 9:55 am

My luggage missed the flight. Because the value of it was over $1000, India customs wasn’t going to let the bag get shipped to the hotel without me coming to back to the airport.. I had a smart Air France agent who said, but its used “ so its not worth that anymore” and it was allowed to be send to the hotel without me retrieving it. But since it was X-rayed on the way in, it had to be X-rayed on the wya out to make sure I wasn’t “leaving it in the country”.

Oh! Thank you for mentioning that. I’m going to India next month and was planning on putting my CPAP in my checked bag. It hadn’t crossed my mind that the value could be an issue. Did they do something special to know your bag would have to be scanned upon exit?

I have an Apple phone and I bought AirTags which are not quite GPS but kind of work that way.

Android makes their own version of the same thing. You could put one in with your luggage for peace of mind.

Just a thought

BlueCar12 wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:53 pm

I’m going to India next month and was planning on putting my CPAP in my checked bag.

Cardinal rule of CPAP air travel: Always carry your CPAP gear on board.

It's a medical bag and doesn't count against your carry-on limit.

I wouldnt be without it either by checking it in.

The free extra carry on is def true throughout the US. Might want to find out the rules in India for the trip home.

The AIRline makes the rules - call them.

lynninnj wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 01, 2022 3:21 pm

I wouldn't be without it either by checking it in.

The free extra carry on is def true throughout the US. Might want to find out the rules in India for the trip home.

This applies to all flights originating or terminating in the U.S., and includes connecting flights. However, if you have internal flights (within India) that were booked separately, that could be problematic.

I just flew to Italy, no problems with carrying on the CPAP in addition to my actual carryon item.
I'm using the AirSense 11, which is a little quieter and noticably lighter than the AirSense 10 even though they are about the same size.

My wife packed a European converter for the electrical outlet in our hotel room, so no issues there.
I did have some concern a few days later after boarding a cruise ship and finding out that our cabin had only one set of electrical outlets, and they were on the opposite wall from the head of the bed.
No big deal, though. A crew member gave me an extension cord that I could run under the bed to the outlet.

I had another issue, in that the little shelf next to my bed was about the width of my CPAP machine. That is, there was no room for the hose to come out behind it.
Another problem easily solved. I simply turned my machine around so that the front of the machine was facing the wall, and the hose came straight out over the bed.
This meant that I couldn't read the screen, but no matter. The most important button is on the top anyway.

. . .

I had another issue, in that the little shelf next to my bed was about the width of my CPAP machine. That is, there was no room for the hose to come out behind it.
Another problem easily solved. I simply turned my machine around so that the front of the machine was facing the wall, and the hose came straight out over the bed.
This meant that I couldn't read the screen, but no matter. The most important button is on the top anyway.

I had forgotten about something that happened to me in 2004 (eighteen years ago). I took a riverboat cruise on the Yangtze River. My room was so small that the only way I could use the CPAP machine was to sleep backwards from the way they set the bed. That is, the only place for the machine was opposite to the end they placed my pillow. Due to language issues, I was unable to instruct the housekeepers to set the bed the way I needed.

D.H. wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 03, 2022 8:19 pm

I had forgotten about something that happened to me in 2004 (eighteen years ago). I took a riverboat cruise on the Yangtze River. My room was so small that the only way I could use the CPAP machine was to sleep backwards from the way they set the bed. That is, the only place for the machine was opposite to the end they placed my pillow. Due to language issues, I was unable to instruct the housekeepers to set the bed the way I needed.

Sounds like quite an experience. I bet you enjoyed the cruise anyway!

weroberts75 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 04, 2022 9:07 am

D.H. wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 03, 2022 8:19 pm

I had forgotten about something that happened to me in 2004 (eighteen years ago). I took a riverboat cruise on the Yangtze River. My room was so small that the only way I could use the CPAP machine was to sleep backwards from the way they set the bed. That is, the only place for the machine was opposite to the end they placed my pillow. Due to language issues, I was unable to instruct the housekeepers to set the bed the way I needed.

Sounds like quite an experience. I bet you enjoyed the cruise anyway!

Actually, I just stripped the bed and made it the way I wanted. If I could have communicated, I would have been able to give instructions. The machine was much higher than my head, but I did not experience any rainout.